Becoming - the journey from traitor to something better
by Pahreza
Summary: Years have passed since Voldemort's defeat but there is still evil in the world. Luckily aspiring new aurors are finally finishing their training. Among them are the famous Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and... Draco Malfoy? Yes. The once spoiled brat is determined to redeem the sins of his family while also proving himself to be acknowledged as the man he is trying to be.
1. Prologue

**The universe is slightly different from what we read, as this story follows a changed Draco and as such I have to alter a few events, inclding fortgetting the ending at the Hogwarts Express from the books and movies. Up until the war ends though not much is different.**

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PROLOGUE

Draco grinded his teeth as the judge condemned his father to Azkaban. This wasn't part of the deal. But he couldn't speak up. Not here. Impatiently he waited until the judge had adjourned the court room and then he hurried to his parents. His mother was in tears, and the look on his father's face broke Draco's heart. The expression told everything. He didn't believe he would make it in there. Draco put a hand on his mother's shoulder.

"I will make it right." It wasn't supposed to end like this. He had made a deal with the authorities. His mother, who had saved Harry Potter's life, had been cleared of all charges nearly even before the trial began, and Draco had been fighting for his father should have the same fate. Unfortunately Lucius had no good deeds to set him free, so the compromise had ended with a medium sentence in a minimum security prison. Not Azkaban. Draco felt a hatred burning inside of him. He felt betrayed. After everything he had done, and this is how they treat him and his family? His mother was still crying and his father tried to calm her, even though he was the one who needed comfort.

"Father, you will be alright. I will get you out of there. Just, just hold on." The last part was said as guards showed up to drag Lucius away. He had to hug his mother when they left with his dad. His father's last words before he was gone were;

"Narcissa, be strong, for us and our son."

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"What in merlin's beard just happened?" He yelled, a thing he rarely did, but the anger had just boiled inside of him since he had left his mom at the manor. The tall dark man sitting at the desk, which Draco was leaning up against, didn't respond. He knew the reason for Draco's anger and planned on letting him yell his frustration out.

"Kingsley, we had a deal. A solid deal." He spat on the floor.

"And what was that crap that my father endangered muggles by letting Voldemort live in our house. It's not like he had a choice." He leaned across the table again.

"We had a deal!" Draco panted as the words left his mouth, he knew he shouldn't be yelling at this man, but he couldn't help but let the frustration out.

As Kingsley, a very patient man, found Draco's temper to cooling down he spoke.

"It's unfortunate. But we will get you father out of Azkaban. There was no way of knowing that the judge would be a muggleborn…"Draco snorted.

"And they accuse us of prejudice." Kingsley raised his hand to avoid further comments.

"As I said, we will get your father out and I might reduce his sentence as an apology, but for now you have to trust in me and focus on training. It starts next week, am I right?"

Draco was annoyed by this change of subject and didn't let it go just yet.

"My father is sent to one of the wizard world's dangerous prisons, my mother is in tears, and we are all in the spotlight as traitors, and you're telling me to calm down?" he breathe out heavily again, this was a despicable situation.

"Draco!" Kingsley seemed to have lost his patience and the underlying coldness in his voice immediately got Draco quiet.

"It was your family's own actions that brought you here. I know that if it hadn't been for you, you father would either be dead by now or already mad in Azkaban." He sighed and turned against the window and his tone changed again.

"We lost many people during that time, but it could have been more, and I will be forever grateful for your contribution, but." He turned around again and stared directly into the ice blue eyes.

"Do not think you are one to order me around." Draco took a step back in surprise, but quickly shook it off. Then he replied in a less hard voice than before.

"Not my intention. My apologies. I just want my parents to be safe." Kingsley sighed.

This young man had done what few had dreamt off, and even fewer had managed, and as he had just said, he was grateful.

"I promise. I will make sure that your father is transferred as soon as I talk to the judge and explain the situation." He leaned back in the chair inspecting Draco who had finally calmed enough to sit down in one of the armchairs in front of the desk.

"You know… it would have been no problem if you had just told everybody what you did." But Draco immediately waved the request away.

"No, no thank you. I'm fine without the recognition. Besides I only think it would have brought even more troubles. The rest of the followers might see us as bigger traitors than your lot. And we both know that they aren't satisfied with a prison sentence." Kingsley nodded. That was true. The silence lasted a little while where both men just sat and waited.

Finally Kingsley spoke again.

"So… Auror training?" Draco sighed and nodded. His mother had cried when he told her his plans, scared that he might get hurt.

"Yes, I know you have great potential, but just let me give you an advice, from an old auror to a cadet, knowing what you have been through the past couples of years." He could see as Draco's eyes changed colour from ice blue, to a slight deeper blue, and how he leaned interested forwards in the chair. Being an auror had become his dream.

"You have to work close with your teammates and partner, so you got to let them in. Devote yourself to them. If you don't you will fail." The last part was said with such an emotionless voice as if he was citing unrelated numbers.

"I know how you had to work by yourself for a year gathering intelligence on the enemy, and the risks you took alone, but as an auror, it is no longer just about you." Kingo saw how Draco's mouth had opened to defend his actions, but he soon closed it again. Instead he stood up, nodded a goodbye and walked toward the door. Just as his hand reached for the doorknob, Kingsley spoke again.

"Draco, I will take care of your parents. You just focus on your training. Draco, without turning around, nodded again, and then left the office.

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**So, yes, Draco was a spy working against Voldemort. There will be more details on that later, this is judt to build up the story. Draco will be training as an auror, while many still believe him to be a deatheater, this should cause some tension. Let's find out.. :D As always, please review, PM me for questions as I can only become better with your help. Thanks. :)**


	2. Chapter 1 - In teams of four

**So far I imaging the setting to be some years after Hogwarts, so Draco and the rest are in their twenties. This is because of two reasons; 1. To make them more mature, also emotionally. 2. to give them some breathing time away from all that crazy stuff that happened in book 7. So everything after that point (approx Battle of Hogwarts) is from my imagination. Any questions? Just PM me. :)**

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In the beginning the rows had been filled with people eager to become an auror, but as training moved along less and less of the eager faces showed up. After the three months at the university, only twenty of the students were left. Draco was one of them and so was both of his frenemies. He had started to call them that in his mind, because he no longer was really against them. But they still annoyed him. Always together like a pair of good doers, half of the girls had according to rumours declared their eternal love to either of them.

They didn't last long in here.

As the instructor continued to go over some of the more boring details on teamwork, Draco leaned back in his seat. Thankfully he was done being around that smug looking Potter by the end of the day. They were done with lectures and training within the university grounds, and were to be placed in teams and then go on real missions with an experienced auror as supervisor. Finally. Not that Draco hadn't learned anything useful during the last couple of months, but he had to admit, although only very silently that it had been lonely.

The few people, who had come near him, were people he immediately avoided, they were up to no good and they thought he, as a former death eater would join them. He couldn't tell the truth so he had just ignored them, which in most cases had led to them believing he felt superior to them. Then again they weren't completely wrong about it. Luckily for him, none of these had passed the question whether or not you were willing to die for another person. He could still remember how the whole room had started to whisper when he passed. Hypocrites.

He sighed and looked down on the instructor again as she told quick joke about trolls. He didn't really pay attention. He had already read all the material on protocol for auror teams in training, and had yet to hear her tell new information. An auror who had graduated, in this case that meant survived, the time as a cadet, would work in two man cells, but since they were still cadets they were furthermore to be placed with another cell under the supervision of a skilled auror. But from what Draco had gathered, cells were often sent on low risk mission on their own to build up an understanding of the job.

Draco had already made his mind up. He might not have put any interest in his classmates for the last three months, but he would listen to Kingo's advice and try to work with his team. He needed to make it work if he were to become an auror.

He sensed a change in his classmates' mood and woke himself up from his daydream. His instructor raised her voice to gain everyone's attention again. "We, your instructors, have looked at all your scores throughout your time with us and with that, and you personality reports, we have decided on your teams for the rest of your time in training.

He knew the head of the aurors knew what he had done. He was also sure that the instructors knew that he had done _something_, if not they would never have let him come this far.

"As hopefully many of you have noticed you are just enough to make five teams, with two two-man cells in each." As people whispered about the significant turnover rate, the instructor laughed. For such a tiny old woman, she looked like she was about sixty; she could get this evil glare on her face, whenever she wanted to scare them. "You might think that there are few of you now, but just wait until the real training begins. Many of you might want to go home and hide under you bed. THEN YOU'RE NOT AN AUROR." She didn't yell, she just said out loud but it made everyone shut their mouth immediately. The fear of something far scarier than what they had been put through here was worrying, even for Draco. They had been introduced to the different malicious creatures of the British Isles, and seen what every one of the creatures could do to wizard. Many had had to run out of the room, holding a hand on their mouth trying not to gag. Some, like Draco and Potter, had already seen horrifying things and were able to maintain a somewhat expressionless face.

"First I will announce the names of the cells, and afterward I will place you into your teams. Now remember, that this I based on you skills, as we have tried to put you together with someone who fits your abilities." She began to list people names. "Next one; Potter, Harry. Weasley Ronald." It didn't actually surprise Draco that Weasley and Potter ended in the same cell. He watched as Weasley smiled with relief and Potter just leaned back with a gratified smile. Of course the inseparables would end up together. A small and tiny voice inside Draco's head commented; "they have been fighting side by side since they were children, not to put them together would be wrong." He knew it was true, though he would never admit it openly. An auror was dependent on his partner, and as Potter and Weasley already knew each other so well they had a strong advantage.

He had always known that Potter was a strong wizard, but it had surprised him to see Weasley when it came to planning strategies and thinking ahead. He was never going to tell either of them this of course. "Malfoy, Draco. MacMillan, Anne. And the last one…" Who was she? Draco searched his mind. He knew the last name; it was one of the few pure blood clans left. He knew the name from Sacred Twenty-Eight. As he discreetly looked around to see who he was teamed up with, he tried to recall a face, but he hadn't paid the others much attention. He had mainly been focused on his own progress while avoiding Potter and Weasley. He was sitting a bit in the back and he had hoped whoever this Anne was, she would be searching for his face as well, but no one else was looking around. There were eight girls of the remaining twenty cadets, so he could even find her by elimination. Slowly he gave up and turned his attention back to the instructor who were about to announce the teams.

This time he didn't have to wait before he had reached to bottom of her list. His name was the first to be called. "Malfoy, Macmillan. You're teamed with… Potter, Weasley!" his jaw fell down. Were they nuts? Potter and him on the same team? What? He couldn't help but to turn his head to see their reaction. They had the same level of shock written in their faces, and he could see Weasley was about to get up and protest, but Potter pulled him down before he was done opening his mouth. Luckily for him, because at that moment a loud bang sounded, disrupting whatever turmoil the announcement had started. A wand had appeared in their instructor's hand and smoke drifted form the tip. All the students had immediately grabbed their own wands and a few, including Draco, were halfway out of their seats. "I WILL NOT TOLERATE ANY DISTURBANCES."

Again with the loud outburst, and then she continued. "I do appreciate though how you have all quick reflexes. That will become vital for you." This she said in a warm and welcoming voice, which kinda freaked Draco out. "Glad we're on the same terms." She continued. "As you all know, if you don't work well with your partner, it is your life that is on stake." She is not sidestepping anything, Draco thought to himself. They all knew what they were walking into, but it was still weird to being told so bluntly. "So to help you work on your teamwork before you go into the field we have arranged for a little competition, which will begin shortly after you have met within your cells. This will be a competition between cells and not teams."

Draco exhaled, that was comforting. He couldn't get his head around why they would put him in a team with Potter, and he definitely didn't feel like going into a battle, or whatever this competition was about, with them right now.

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The instructor dismissed the class and everyone was leaping from the seats to get out in the fresh air and away from this room. As people hurried past him, many joining up in their new groups, Draco was content with a slow paced stroll. In his mind he began wondering what kind of test this would be, because he was sure that it was a test. This just wasn't out of courtesy alone, not just some kind of teambuilding experience. As he had almost reached the door to the outside, he noticed someone catching up to him from behind. He was just about to open the door, when he heard someone clear his throat. Draco turned around. It was Potter and behind him Weasley. "Hi." Potter said and it was quite obvious how they all found this situation awkward. "So… we are on the same team, eh?" he said cleverly as always. Draco almost rolled his eyes, but at the same time he had to admit it was quite something for potter to actually talk directly to him in a civilised manner even. Draco nodded to them. "I expect you to be at your best once we are out of here." He knew the second it came out of his mouth that it didn't sound as he had thought. It sounded stuck-up. Weasley stood up straight and said," hey you know how good we are. We fought Voldemort, remember?"

Before Draco could speak, Potter interrupted. "Can we start over?" he said hastily to make sure Weasley wouldn't speak up again. "Like… All from scratch, and just work together nicely?" Draco inspected the man in front of him. He looked a lot like he had done when they first began at Hogwarts.

Back then, on the Hogwarts Express, Draco had walked into the cabin to speak to the mighty Harry Potter, because his father had asked him to. For some reason it had been really important for his father that they, the Malfoys, made contact with this boy to make him see the truth, whatever that was. Draco never completely got why, since as he understood, this Potter was not a pure-blood. As Potter and Weasley had teamed up together back then, Draco had continued to point out to his father about Potter's blood traitor tendencies. It was of course all to avoid the disappointment from his father.

Draco had back then been so sure of the superiority of pure-bloods that it never occurred to him that to think otherwise. Now… he wasn't so sure anymore. He couldn't point toward a wizard and based on their capabilities see whether or not they were muggleborn or not. It had shaken him deeply to grow up into a world that wasn't as black and white as he had been told as a child. He shook the train of thoughts out of his head as he realised he hadn't answered. He nodded again, not sure how to respond verbally but ended up saying somewhat uncertainly "lets."

Weasley had taken a step closer so he was now at Potter's side and he looked irritated. Then suddenly he extended his hand in greeting. "Hello, I'm Ronald Weasley, please call me Ron." He said, both to Potter and Draco's surprise, his eyes piecing Draco. Draco eyes met Weasley's… Ron's and they shook hands. "Draco Malfoy." He said, still a little perplexed. "Harry Potter, nice to meet you." Harry said and shook hands with Draco as well. Then they just stood there without speaking until finally Draco had shaken enough of the shock of to say; "Do you guys know who Macmillan is?" Harry was the one to answer. "Sure, I think she went outside." Draco then decided to open the door to go outside, when Ron followed and spoke; "Ernie Macmillan was in Hufflepuff in our year. You don't remember him?" as Draco had his back to them he couldn't see what happened, but it sure sounded like Harry gave Ron an elbow o his side. Draco sighed and answered. "No, I didn't really hang out with anyone but Slytherin, you know." He could hear Ron taking a few steps to catch up with him again, as they walked toward the park that was nearby, this was the place people relaxed after the harsh auror training every day. As Ron now walked besides him, he said "So? Who is Macmillan? I didn't see anyone look up when the names were listed."

Ron answered with his bluntly honesty, he wasn't very good at diplomacy; "Nah, she probably knew who you were already." Harry sighed. "Ron…"

"What? It's not like the entire school didn't know who he was, I mean your fights were legendary…" he suddenly realised he had said too much and quickly closed his mouth. To both Ron and Harry surprise, Draco smiled back at Harry. "Does he always do that? I thought he did it just to annoy me in school." Harry patted Ron's back. "It's getting better."

"Hey why are you talking like I'm not here?" then a large growl emerged from Ron's stomach. "Speaking of food…" he mumbled.

"We weren't…" argued Draco, but Ron continued. "Harry let go grab something to eat." He turned to Draco. "Macmillan is the one over there." He pointed to a group of their fellow classmates. "I think she is the only one with short hair." Then he turned toward the cafeteria one of the larger buildings. "See you around Draco." Harry just shook his shoulders and followed, leaving Draco alone to figure out who he was partnered up with.

He really didn't feel like walking into the crowd of classmates who were sitting at a fountain, and they were huddled too much up for him to spot a short haired girl this far away. He resorted to calling for her. "Hey Macmillan?" everyone looked up at him as he approached the group but she person who stood up to walk towards him wasn't in the group. Apparently she had been sitting on the opposite of the fountain, probably reading, as she was carrying a book. She had short brown hair and wore the recommended auror outfit except the cape which it was still too warm for, dark brown leather trousers, black boots and the belt, in which all an auror's gear would be easy obtainable. He wore the same outfit except he had chosen a dark green colour on his pants. Her face remained calm, but he saw her eyes being on alert as she reached him. "Hi. Draco?" she asked directly.

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**So here we are introduced to the other main characters.**

** Draco has learned to behave better than in his school years, buy being a Slytherin at heart he still prefers to walk his own paths. **

**What do you think our heroine is like? And how will the interaction between all of them be? Ideas or suggestions are welcome both by PM or reviews, I will read everything. There is already a few adventures lined up for our heroes and I am really looking forward to share them with you. Have a nice day/night. :)**


	3. Chapter 2 - Entering the labyrinth

**I love you guys! Really I do. I got so excited when more had favoured this story. But remember it will only get better with:**  
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So this was the girl he was supposed to work with. He couldn't recall any of her achievements through the last couple of months which dismayed him somewhat. Though she had to be strong to be paired with him; he didn't plan on getting weighed down by anyone. She frowned. "Do you need to see some credentials before you acknowledge me or?" she asked.

"Yes. I'm sorry. Just Draco." He said quickly, cursing at himself. Be polite, is that hard to do? He figured that being on first name basis with Potter and Weasley or now Harry and Ron; he should be on first name with his cell partner as well.

"I just can't seem to remember if we met before or not?" she waved him away from the fountain where some of their classmates had stopped chatting to follow their conversation. As soon as Draco realised that he moved along. Then instead of answering she said. "Look, I know that we could do that politeness dance with hello, what's your name, age blah blah…" Draco looked in surprise at her, but he couldn't help but smile, she had got a point. "But can we do that part quick and instead move on to more relevant information?"

Still a bit startled he said, "Sure… What's relevant?"

She looked at him to figure out if he was dumb. "Well, your battle and duelling skills for example…"

"Oh right… Well do you wanna start with the basics then?" This had quickly turned into some kind of speed dating, except for the chance of choosing afterwards. Draco thought that if she at least started he could just rely on telling her the same kind of information, and then he shouldn't screw it up.

She had moved toward a more isolated place in the park, there weren't any benches but instead rocks were scattered around to make it look more rural. She sat down on one of them and Draco followed her example.

"Okay… First I expect that everything we share is in confidence?" He nodded in agreement; he also had things he didn't want anyone to know.

Okay then. Well second of all I do recognize you from Hogwarts." She started. Draco sighed inwardly, apparently Ron was right. "I can tell you that I was a year behind you, I'm from Gryffindor and I fought together with my brother Ernie, who you might remember from your year." Draco just nodded, it was easier not to go into detail about who he had or hadn't spoken to back then. "Well we fought at the battle of Hogwarts and that showed me that I could handle such kind of situation. So after Hogwarts I have been working here and there to gain skills necessary to become and auror." She took a deep breath in, as she realised how quickly she had spoken. "You?" she said smiling. He could see that she tried to be friendly, but also that somewhere inside of her there was scepticism. "Well, you said you knew me, so what do you wanna know?"

The question seemed to surprise her, and when she answered he detected a hint of confusion.

"Well importantly, why auror?"

"Ah, yes, the hottest topic of the gossiping world…" He should have expected these kinds of questions. "The short version is that I believe I have the skills to do this. I'm capable."

"Because of your past?" He didn't want to answer that, but as she caught his line of sight he didn't see any bad intentions in her eyes, actually she just looked curious, and so he said;

"Yes, that plays a large part of why I'm here." She gave a slow nod and then looked like she anticipated him to continue. He shrugged his shoulders, but didn't continue to speak. Anne waited a little longer before she said; "Okay… that's fair. You don't want to talk about it, but…" she looked around to see if anyone else was close, then she leaned towards him. "Is it true that you became a death eater at only sixteen?" He saw the question coming from a mile away, and he had already decided in his mind that it wasn't going to be a secret. He sighed and nodded, then rolled up his sleeve to show her his dark mark. Her eyes widened as it appeared on his skin, and before he knew it, she had reached and grabbed his arm. He stiffened as the girl in front of him let her fingers gently slide over his skin and the mark. "It's like it isn't there." She said. "I can't feel it."

Draco wasn't happy about someone touching him, and then this girl just stomped all over his personal space.

He had expected the mark to disappear when Voldemort had died, and even though it never hurt anymore as it wasn't possible to call for Voldemort with it anymore, he still felt sick with disgust when looking at it.

Anne saw how Draco darkened, and then realised how inappropriate her actions were. One couldn't just grab other person's arm and pry into the horrible past of the person. She quickly removed her hands and apologised.

Draco just grunted his accept of the apology. He huffed as he rolled the sleeve down again. Rather annoyed he stood up. He could feel a prickling feeling where her fingers had touched his mark, which only annoyed him further. He stood up. "I think we should head back, don't think we have much time left before it all begins." She jumped down from the rock she had been sitting on and nodded. "You know… It's okay to tell me to back off if I get too snooping." She said while quickening her pace as they walked back so that she now walked in front of him. She had her hands folded behind her head and was walking backwards so that they remained face to face. She waited for his response, and once in a while looked behind her to make sure she wouldn't bump into anything. "I'm terrible curious, and sometimes don't get it immediately when stepping on someone's boundaries." Draco wasn't sure to respond to this so he stayed quiet. She continued instead. "But if we have to work together as a cell, you got to talk to me. No matter how annoying I can get." The last part was said with a friendly smile as she obviously thought his silence was because of her touching his arm and the mark. This was partly the reason. He just was uncertain how to speak to her. He was used to working alone, and mostly had been in contact with people in order to gain something from them, so this teamwork thing was not really a familiar territory for him.

"Still quiet I see… hmm…" she suddenly smiled smugly. "I will just have to force you then."

Force? What did she mean? She couldn't mean anything harmful that would be against the auror code. So then what? He soon got his answer as she jokingly began talking.

"I will just have to talk until you say something. Okay… So I'm from the Macmillan clan, which you of course know now…" She gave a funny grimace as she realised she was stating the obvious but continued; "What you might not know is that I, besides Ernie, have two older siblings as well. My family is very important to me and I have learned a lot from having older siblings, but, you know, it can also be nice sometimes to be the youngest and most spoiled of the four of us." She grinned at the thought and Draco replied with a little smile himself, her talking had almost removed the thought of the mark. She continued still smiling, happy to see some progress with him.

"At Hogwarts I got Outstanding in my N.E.W.T.s classes in Defence against the Dark Arts, Potions, Transfiguration and Charms, which made my family overexcited, and I got Exceeding Expectations in Astronomy, Herbology and History of Magic, so that's pretty cool." She paused. "You see what I just did there? I proved that I'm not some dimwit who got lucky through the auror training. I actually know things…" He shrugged his shoulders as to say, 'we'll see,' and gave her another smile, which made her smile back again.

"I'm quite looking forward to see how good you are… I was never placed on the same courses as you while we been here, but according to rumours you should be pretty decent. Oh, and by the way… You and our other teammates have a history. I know that, but I do hope that you all can work together. Because if you don't, then we're all screwed. And I don't plan on holding back once we start in the field, I do hope you realise this." She turned around and stopped at the door which would lead them inside again. She reached for the handle then stopped. "Hey did you hear which dungeon we were supposed to rendezvous at?" Draco was still thinking about what she had told him about working together as a team, so with a distracted tone he answered; "Dungeon 1."

With a satisfactory smirk she turned towards him. "HA! I made you talk." He was about to protest, when it dawned upon him that his silence, which was from his nervousness, actually made her uncomfortable, so instead he said. "Yes, yes you did." with a sigh of relief.

This part of teamwork was not supposed to be hard. "Are you ready yourself?" he asked as they walked inside and down the corridor. "I think so, yeah." She replied. "I mean it's got to be something most of us remaining can handle, and without bragging we are some of the strongest left." He noticed how she used her hands when she was talking, which amused him as she slammed her fist into the palm of her other hand. "I think we stand a good chance of winning this. Whatever 'this' is." She looked up at him. "What do you think?"

As he thought about the question he looked up at the grey ceiling.

This building was one of the older buildings at the Merlin's university and had been in use for auror training since the middle ages. The old grey university was hidden in the forests outside of Nottingham which was a city inhabited by both wizards and muggles. It had been suggested that the cadets should acquire an apartment inside the city so they had a shorter route to their studies. Many had done so, including Draco, though he often visited his mother at the family manor.

Draco exhaled as he thought of all the things they had already seen within these walls. The building was magically enlarged on the inside so he knew there was no way of telling what was in store for them.

"I don't know what they have planned for us, but we should do well. If you impressed McGonagall to attain an 'Outstanding', you got to have some skills." He said while holding the door to the stairways open for her; his parents had taught manners.

Anne frowned as if that was the only achievement that proved her skills; in fact she believed her attending in the Battle of Hogwarts to prove more than any N.E.W.T. grade. She passed through the door. "I saw that." He chuckled, when he went after her down the stairs.

Progress, now they had a small joke between them. Anne was mumbling something; he couldn't quite hear what, but something about him having humour. He almost snorted in protest. Of course he had a sense of humour, then again he couldn't brag about having shown it to any other than Slytherins back when they were in school. He chose to not comments on the matter.

They stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked down the hallway they were now standing in. "So…?" Anne began, but Draco just stepped past her and moved toward the door at the end of the hall. "It's the biggest door." He explained, "Might lead to where we're going."

She nodded. "Right." They walked into the room, well it wasn't really just a room; it was more like a giant hall. They couldn't even see the roof, as light, perhaps some kind of lamps or spotlights, floated below the ceiling. The light was directed at a huge structure, which could only be magically created. There was a huge hedge in front of them, and it had caught their eyes. It went on for a mile in each direction and it was so tall that even a giant couldn't look over the top. "Wow." Anne exclaimed, abruptly stopping to stare.

"Aha," was the only thing Draco said in response, trying not to gape. Were they supposed to go in there?

He spotted a small group of people standing at what seemed to be an entrance, he pointed towards them, to indicate they should walk over there as well.

"Do you think it's a labyrinth?" she asked.

"Possibly. It sure looks like the one from the Triwizard Tournament. "

"I really dislike labyrinths." Harry's voice suddenly said right behind them. Both Draco and Anne turned around. Harry stood with an upset expression. Ron was still munching on a cinnamon roll while he stared at the enormous structure. No one asked what Harry had referenced to. They all knew the story of what happened during the Triwizard Tournament, either directly from Harry or from rumours. After the comment they all stayed quiet for a while, and kept to inspect the hedge. It was thick with tiny green leaves, which made it impossible to look through the walls the hedge made.

After some time had passed it seemed like all their classmates had gathered there as well, and one of their combat instructors came strolling from the far end of the hedge with another man. It was not difficult to see that the stranger was also an auror because of the uniform, but this man had, opposite to many of the other aurors they had seen during their training, not the look of a burdened man. He was walking with his hands in his pockets with a carefree smile on his lips. His dark coloured skin only accentuated his bright white teeth. He seemed to be a bit younger than their parents, but as he came closer they could see that he had greying hair.

"Welcome all," their instructor said. He had been one of the better instructors, so everyone silenced instantly in respect. "As many of you, hopefully have guessed… Yes, this is a labyrinth that you will have to complete in order to go into the field."

Draco looked at his three teammates, as they listened. Harry seemed agitated, but that was understandable, Ron had a more suspicious look, whereas Anne remained expressionless. He, himself, began feeling a little nervous about teamwork, but then calmed himself with the thought that if he probably was strong enough to carry the team, and hence didn't need to worry. As he turned his attention back to the instructor, he noticed Anne turning her face toward him, to inspect his mood, but he didn't look back.

"I believe you have been introduced to your teammates and cell partner?" People nodded. "Good, I will now designate each cell a number; you must remember this to complete the competition." He listed each cell, as they had been told before and then added a number from one to ten.

"Here is your mission." You are to enter the labyrinth and complete a task. This task is adjusted to your level, but otherwise is it exactly like a mission cell would encounter in the field."

A girl was about to raise her hand in question, but the visiting auror interrupted her by saying; "No, no one will meet the same task. The labyrinth is closed so the opposing cells cannot interrupt you. This is a competition. Based on how fast and efficient you solve your tasks, your cells will be judged and your field training will be according to your skill level. If you fail, give up or we find your effort inefficient, you won't become an auror."

This news made people whisper to each other, but were silenced by their instructor. "You will be observed at all times by your auror instructors and aurors from the field." He pointed toward the man next to him. "Should you get in too much trouble, just shoot up a red light into the air, and we will intervene."

"Though, this also counts as giving up." The auror added.

"Yes." The instructor nodded, looked over the cadets and then continued; "This is the first part: Each cell will enter through a designated entrance, then you have to complete the task within two hours, and then reach the centre. When the two hours have passed a gate will open and on the other side is a statue. Touch the statue and you will be teleported out of this labyrinth."

Draco frowned by these specific demands. He had to remember every word, because there might be some hints hidden in what they were told. He just wasn't sure what yet.

"The second part of the competition is free for all."

The auror took a step forward and continued; "We wanna test and watch your teamwork and abilities, but without actual fights. So there is one condition you must follow. It is forbidden to attack an opponent cell with ANY direct attack." The mumbling from the cadets indicated that there were some confusion on how then to attack, but the auror just took out a map which he laid out on the ground. "This is where your cells will enter. Look closely as we will not follow you to your places. You have an half an hour to reach your starting point, or the entrance will close itself up. Your time starts from now on." Then both him and their instructor apparated each with a smug smile on their face, and left the cadets by themselves.

This made many upset. "What? Like right now?" and "They did not just leave?" And many other comments could be heard.

Draco and his teammates had stood in the back and no one had commented on what had been instructed to them, then Draco said; "Well, this ought to be fun."

The others smiled. Ron stretched his arms. "Ah, it will be good to get some actual action."

Harry chuckled. "I bet that when we get out in the field, you won't stop complaining about too much action."

Ron frowned at this which only made the others chuckle more. Anne quickly leapt over to the map to see where they were placed. She looked for clues how to differentiate the different entrances from each other, and she could hear that the other cells had the same problems. Her teammates came over to her.

"So where are we going?" Draco asked.

"I'm not sure." She answered and sat down on one knee, getting closer to the map. He sat down next to her. "I don't know where we are at this map, I can't see any signs or…" she turns her head and looked at the entrance they were right next to. "No wait… I think…" but as she was about to point at the map, someone pushed her and Draco away from each other to get a look at the map themselves.

"Hey!" she exclaimed and Ron and Harry both took a step forward and Draco jumped up.

"Hey lady, you are blocking the view. Everyone else also got to see the map." Anne was just about to say something back, but then stopped herself. Her teammates looked curious at her, but she just waved them to the side, trying not to smile too openly.

As they retracted themselves from the others she told them why she smiled. "There are numbers on the entrances; it's made out of branches. Look." She pointed covertly, but when all three guys openly looked at the same time, she sighed. "Not all at once." Then she continued to explain. "At the map the numbers are written into the drawings of the branches as well."

Ron looked confused. "But how do we know who has which number?" but Harry quickly answered that. "Ah. The cell numbers we were given in the beginning, right?"

Draco nodded. "That seems likely."

"So where are we placed?" Ron asked.

"You were two entrances up, and we are two down." She said while pointing in the direction they would be headed.

Draco frowned "So then we are opposite of each other?" She nodded. Harry then looked inspecting at her. "You know, we are actually against each other as two cells right now, why should we believe you?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "You can always check out the map yourselves. It's just…They kept pointing out how they would look at teamwork. I just thought we could help each other out as a team." The guys looked at each other then they nodded in silent agreement.

"Okay." Harry said. "We trust you. Let's go Ron; I want to make it before the entrance closes."

You ready too?" Draco asked Anne as she straightened up, she checked her belt then said; "Yep. Let's get to it… "

As they passed the map, the brute who had pushed Anne, was still bent over the map, looking more and more frustrated. The team giggled, gave each other a good luck wave and then went separate ways.

When Draco and Anne had walked for a little while he asked; "Are you nervous?"

She quickly responded. "Oh, no. No. I'm good…" but then paused. "Eh, maybe a little… You?"

He shrugged. "I don't know…" But then he sighed and said; "Honestly, I think I have been in more dangerous situations than this will be to really be nervous now."

She nodded. He couldn't tell if she had any idea of what he had been doing, but he was rather surprised by the openness she showed towards him, especially since she was a Gryffindor and he was a Slytherin.

"Hey you know… We really ought to plan some tactics in case we encounter something dangerous."

He agreed, "Any thoughts in particular?"

"Well I definitely think we should divide our view area. Like… when we walk along the paths, you will counter whatever comes to our right, while I take left, this way we should be more prepared for an attack." He was surprised by her insight; this wasn't something they had been taught during training.

"Oh, and during fights, 'cause I'm sure some will happen, if there is more than on enemy we should be standing back to back, until we have a wall or similar to cover our backs."

He smiled. "I think that is a pretty good assessment. We should be able to work with that." She smiled back, clearly relieved that he took her seriously.

They reached the entrance with their number. It was open, and as they looked into the labyrinth a question emerged. "Are we supposed to enter before or after the time has passed?" she asked.

"I dunno…" he said. "I think we should enter, it's open."

She walked up close to the hedge and inspected it. "Yeah, but… Ugh, I hate when the instructors talk in riddles."

He smiled, "Most likely it is part of the test, to see what we would do." He looked at her as a thought developed in his mind. "What are they always telling us an auror should do?" Anne looked at him confused, so he answered himself. "They tell us that an auror, who don't dare to take risks, causes lives. So…" as he could see his idea spawn in her mind he continued. "We should take the risk and enter." He gave her a last quick look, to be sure she agreed, and then stepped over into the labyrinth. Nothing happened. "Yep. Definitely think we are on the right track." She entered behind him. "So far, so good." She said looking back at the entrance. They turned to walk deeper into the labyrinth. The tall walls made it difficult for the light to come down, so down at the bottom it was almost as dark as if it was dusk. They were standing on a stomped dirt path, approximately ten feet wide, which gave them a good chance of mobility should they encounter anything. There was only one problem. There was no opening they could walk through.

"Hm… I guess, you're supposed to walk through the entrance, and when the half an hour has passed, this will open." Draco guessed looking at the braches, though they didn't reveal anything to him.

"You're sure?" Anne said, walking up next to him at the end of the path.

"It seems that way."

Anne took out her wand. "Eh, let's just check anyway." She flicked her wand at the end of the path, where the opening would probably be, but nothing happened. "Guess you're right. How much time do you think is left?"

"I dunno. But I don't think we have to wait a long time."

"What do you think of the two hour limit? In real field mission, you don't have a timer hanging over your head." She sat down on the path and stretching her legs out.

"No, but outside of here, you have real people to save. I think it is a measure to pressure us." He sat down opposite of her and asked; "What else did they specify for us? There was the thing about no direct attacks even though it is a free for all… what do you think that was about?"

"Probably do see how creative we can be." She answered with a grin on her face. "I'm sure you know some pretty good charms that can be helpful for us and very annoying for others." Her smirk widened.

"Or traps?" He grinned back. They were on the same page here. "Is this because you have siblings? I've heard that siblings tend to mess with each other?"

She pulled her legs back and then sat cross-legged. "Oh, yeah that definitely helps one gain certain talents. I specialised in a freezing spell during a holiday at home during my first year." She laughed. "Oh, I was hated that Christmas." She looked up at she continued to laugh at the memory. "You never did anything like that?"

Draco frowned. "No, I don't have any siblings. And you know… I was kind of a bully back at Hogwarts, so I must admit that's where I used my tricks."

She laughed. "Kind of a bully… No, I think you were THE bully…"

The fact that she laughed confused him, especially since her laughter was contagious. "Why are you laughing? I think I was pretty horrible back then."

"I know. I know I shouldn't laugh… It's just this situation, talking to you about it… You played tricks on me as well, you really don't remember?"

He shook his head, but still tried to remember her face from back then. "No… I… sorry…"

"Hey, no problem… Besides I think I exaggerated a bit. Pansy was a lot worse than you. She bullied everybody all the time, even younger Slytherins." While she talked she looked through her belongings once again, as to see if everything as in order. He felt the same restlessness. Anne continued. "She fancied you though." She smiled smugly at this. Draco made a face about it. "I know. You don't have to remind me…" Anne laughed, but at the same moment a movement caught their attention and both jumped back on their feet.

Branches began creaking and crunching, as they moved from the end of the path to create a new entrance. When they looked back the opposite was happening to the entrance they had just entered few moments ago. It took just ten seconds and then it was a thick and dense as the walls surrounding them. They looked at each other and then started to walk. "I dunno what to expect, so I'm kinda expecting everything right now." Anne admitted.

Draco nodded. "I know… But let's agree on some rules first. Before we enter I mean."

"Yeah?" she asked and slowed down her pace. "Well first of all, I think it's important not to lose sight of each other in there."

Anne agreed, and he continued. "Also, I think it's best if we prioritize communication." Before he could ask he explained; "if I do something that confuses you, make sure to ask. I think that will improve teamwork, right?" He tried to ignore the uncertainty in his voice as he asked. He didn't feel very confident about the team work thing yet, even though he thought that it had went pretty well strangers who just met an hour ago.

"I will do that, and you can tell me, if there is something. Ready?" He nodded and they stepped through the new entrance.

.

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**Please leave a review, comment or send a PM. :)**


	4. Chapter 3 - The first task

**First: Please leave a review from your experience with reading my story. Is it good, why? Is it boring, why? I really do try to incorporate all the feedback in both old chapters and the new ones. **

**Second: I have a question for you, should I remodel the story, so that the prologue and chapter 1 is in one chapter? does that make more sense to you as a reader? Please PM your answer. :)**

**And now... My dearest, here is some action for you.**

Inside the labyrinth they both went on alert. Everything in there could be dangerous, it probably was dangerous. There was no wind, and hence the leaves didn't make any noise. The only thing to be heard was the sound of their boots hitting the ground and even fainter the sound of their breath.

They walked along a corridor, and as they reached a corner, Draco, who had been a half step in front of Anne, stopped, and she followed his example. He turned his head to look at her and she nodded him on to continue. They almost crouched as they turned to corner only to see another corridor. This made them both exhale.

"This is ridiculous." Anne said with a low voice and straightened up. He sighed and did the same. He had kinda expected to be attacked as they entered, and it seemed like Anne had expected the same, but it seemed fairly safe right now. He scratched the back of his head.

"Well, they said that we would get a task in here, we should prioritize figuring out what that is first, I guess."

They started walking again as she thought about his proposal. He could see how her mind weighed pros and cons, but the fact was that they didn't know what to find in there, so it was best to do what they were told, that was his opinion.

"Aye." She finally said. "But how do we know what our task is? What should we be looking for?"

"I dunno. But let's move quickly." He said and he increased his pace, while she reluctantly followed. The path continued to wind and after the tenth turn both were making an annoyed noise.

"I begin to agree with Harry," she suddenly said, and he felt her irritation, "I mean…What are they testing us for?" She threw hands up as they turned yet another corner. "Perhaps our patience…" She almost bumped into him as he suddenly stopped, and was about to remark it but she silenced immediately at the sight. It was a large area, almost like a grove in the woods, and in the middle was a little cottage. It was in ruins. The outer door hang only on the upper hinge, several windows had been smashed in and there were feathers and bits of debris lying around. Without speaking, they both knew what to do; they took a firmer grip on their wands and then moved into the house. It was very quiet inside the house as they entered. They first checked the kitchen and then continued into to living room, but all they found was broken furniture. Something big and strong had been in here as one armchair was almost torn in half.

As Anne's and Draco's eyes met, they both asked and answered each other's question. This had to be the beginning of their task and to complete it, they had to figure out what had happened, who had done it and they were probably to capture the perpetrator as well.

"Lumos." Draco needed light to see into the dark corners of the room, but as his wand lit up there was still no sign of life. They stepped over the debris to search in the last room, but just as the before they weren't anyone in there. The mattress was so torn apart that it looked like it had been gutted. The closet had been knocked over the bed, all of its contents spread out all over the floor.

It was the last room. There weren't any people or victims anywhere near the house, and as it seemed like there were no immediate threat, they lowered their wands and went back into the living room.

"So what do you think we have here?" Draco asked as he shoved the torn armchair to the side.

"Chaos," was the blunt answer, bu then she added: "Must be a muggle's home. I see plenty of muggler artefacts around everywhere; also none of the pictures have moveable persons inside." Draco nodded and Anne continued. "There are no evidence of an actual fight, there isn't any blood smeared. But there must have been a lot of anger with this amount of destruction." She sighed. "What do you think?" Draco just shrugged his shoulders and said, "Not sure…" he leaned down to inspect some nicks on the window ledge, and then he looked around the room. Anne was going through the rubbish on the floor, but didn't seem to have any success.

Draco walked over to the door between the bedroom and living room. A curtain rack had been torn down from the wall, and was leaning against the doorframe. He moved it away and four big slashes in the frame became visible.

"Huh." He exclaimed. "Guess we have our perpetrator."

"A werewolf? Really?" Anne's face was sceptical as she considered the idea. He didn't reply. He just waited while the idea sunk in, and eventually she gave in to the evidence. He understood her. Taking down a werewolf, was not just something anyone could do.

"So what do we know so far from all of this?" she asked him as they went outside again.

"Well, we know that we are most likely dealing with a werewolf. There are no victims, so far, but that is probably to make it easier for us. And we know that we have to capture and detain the werewolf as it is illegal to be within close range of muggles when they shape shift." He stopped to look back at the cottage, as Anne walked around the building. "We also know that this is one very enraged werewolf. They don't usually spend this much time damaging non-threatening objects."

"I agree. There is something wrong, almost unnatural, with this destruction. When we encounter him, we have to be very careful."

"Him? How do you know it's a 'him'?" Draco came up to her and she pointed on paw prints scattered around the back of the house.

"The size is way too big to be a female." She said.

Draco groaned internally. A male was much stronger than a female, as werewolf also took their shape after the human they were.

"I always call them 'it' when in there werewolf shape. When you can't communicate with them, they become a beast."

"I guess…" was the answer he got, but he didn't pursue the matter any further.

They followed the paw prints along a trail that led away from the house and into the dark paths of the labyrinth again.

"Oh, wait a second." Anne lifted her wand toward Draco and mumbled "Nullodor". Then she did the same thing to herself. Draco nodded.

"Removing our scents. Good idea." She smiled back, glad that he appreciated her input.

They continued, but had their wands up and ready like before.

"Some task they put us on, eh?" Anne said.

She paused for a bit, and when Draco didn't answer she continued in a low voice. "Actually, I'm glad they put us on a 'real' test, and not some easy one. This way we can prove if we are ready for the field or not."

Draco whispered back, "You talk too much," but quickly added, "Yes, I think this difficult test is better to." He quickly glanced at her. "Have you brought any smoke bombs or similar?"

She shook her head and then added. "No. Didn't think of it, sorry."

"It's okay, neither did I; we just have to be quick with our wands then." He pointed toward another print on the ground as they passed it. They were still on the right track.

They stayed quiet as they continued to walk.

Anne could feel the impatience building up inside of her, as well as a nervousness she tried to weaken with her mind. At the same time she felt the little rush of adrenalin. Finally, here they were, about to act like if it was a real case. She really hoped she wouldn't screw it up.

Draco felt the rush as well. He wanted to prove to people that he could achieve something. He wanted to change the image there was of him, but he also knew that it would take much more time, than just getting becoming an auror.

A noise made them both stop and pricked up their ears. There was a stomp. Then a low growling not too far away from them. As they reached a corner they both stopped to listen if it was close, but the sound seemed to move further away. They took the step around the corner and at the far end of the path; a big shadow turned a corner. They were catching up to it. Instantly they took a firmer grip on their wands and then increased their speed. When they finally reached the end and the other corner, all they saw was the shadow of the werewolf disappearing behind another turn in the paths. Draco and Anne looked at each other but neither said a word. Of course this wasn't going to be easy. They sped up and followed the path.

This happened two more times, but the third time, as they rounded yet another corner, they didn't end up on a new path, instead this was a grove like the one they had found the cottage in. This was bigger though, had small trees scattered around the place and in furthest away from them a black werewolf was gorging on the remains of a goat. The goat's head was lying next to the huge paws of the beast. Draco signalled for Anne to go left while he would take right, in order to prevent the werewolf to from escaping. Slowly they moved closer. Every step closely evaluated not to make any noise, though the gulping sounds from the apparent feast in front of them was noisy enough in itself.

A sudden movement from the werewolf made them both stop. The head turned as a back paw was raised to scratch the head. That was unfortunate for Draco and Anne as they now both were in eyesight of the huge and deadly beast. And it saw them.

With a howl it spun around taking only a second to figure out who to attack. No need for a smokescreen to sneak closer. Neither of the two cadets wasted any time.

"Stupefy!" Both Anne and Draco sent waves of stun spells in its direction, but it successfully evaded them all. Draco was the one closest to the werewolf, but maybe because Anne was smaller, it turned towards her. They kept on flinging there wands, and finally Draco got a hit. Anne almost jumped in triumph, but the werewolf, just kept on moving closer. It seemed like it felt it had the advantage strength wise, so it took its time.

"Why didn't the hit stop him?" she cried, but she remained calm, or at least as calm as anyone would be in front of a full grown werewolf, Draco thought. She swung her wand again, pointing to the ground at the werewolf's feet. "Keep trying to stun it!" she said the Draco. Glacia terra!"

The ground turned into ice under the beast and it made it couldn't move. When it did, it fell to the ground with a growl, which made chills run down their spines. Draco shifted between every stun charm he knew, but every hit was dispelled. There could only be one reason, and that gave him a bad taste in his mouth.

Anne jumped backwards, concentrated for a second then with a clear voice said "Incarcerous!" and a long rope shot out of the wand's tip and it rapidly swung around the beast until it was tied up. It fell to the ground with a snarl as the jaws were restricted by the rope. It fought with all its power.

"Anne," Draco turned his head toward him and he could see her expression change from satisfaction to concern when she looked at him. "It has casted protection spells on itself. That's why we can't stun it directly." She looked confused at him.

"But how is that possible? It can't cast spell in this form… oh…" she narrowed her eyes and looked at the struggling werewolf. "Before it changed shape?" she asked, and Draco nodded.

"Must have been. It means it has intentions to kill innocents. That's why it was close to muggles, they can't defend themselves against this." He almost spat on the ground.

"And we just angered it even more…" she didn't sound worried, in fact she looked more determined now than before, and Draco said.

"Okay, can you hold him down while I start dispelling…"

The ropes couldn't hold any longer and they burst under the strength of the werewolf. The black beast was still on the ice though, but now it was mad and didn't care for any slow fight. It wriggled over the ice area, and as soon as it got solid dirt under its feet it sprung towards Anne. She had tried to conjure another set of ropes, but failed and in the last second the jumped to the side avoiding its claws. Draco had run forward to keep line of sight, as some trees got in the way, and his wand danced as he used and hit with every dispel he knew.

"Abrogando! Stupefy! Dissipio! Stupefy! Inritan! Merlin's beard… STUPEFY"

Anne rolled to her side and immediately flung her wand at the space between her and the werewolf.

"Bombarda!" the hit threw her further backwards but it also hit the werewolf and gave her a safer distance from it. Instead it turned to Draco, who was still fighting to capture the beast. He stared at it as it raised itself up again from the blast. He couldn't see Anne because she was lying behind it, but when he couldn't hear her, he feared she had been knocked unconscious either from the blast or the fall. He pointed his wand directly at the face of the werewolf as it got closer and in a tiny second he saw how it leaned into a jump.

"Totalus transferamus!" The beast flew towards him, and Draco jumped to the side. Unfortunately he chose the wrong side as he ended face into the branches, and he quickly realised why the instructors hadn't mentioned anything about cheating and skipping through the walls. He could feel how a warm substance dribbled from his chin and hands, as the razor sharp leaves turned against him. He stepped back only to realise that he was within range of the werewolf now. He heard another snarl behind him and he turned to face it.

"VOCO ROMO CALIGO FORTO!" a female voiced yelled and thick branches shoot up and twined around the werewolf's body until it couldn't move. This time Draco didn't waste any time talking and he steered his last attack into the face of the predator, they had fought. "Restringa, stupefy!" He would rather be certain that he actually had made sure it was secure, before going anywhere. He could see how the charms froze the werewolf, and it was only standing up because of the braches holding it up. He heard a moaning and ran to Anne, who was trying to sit up.

"Bad fall…" she grunted. "Good thing we already passed that test, huh?"

He smiled, she seemed to be okay, but she didn't reply his smile. Actually she looked at him with a terrified stare. He frowned.

"What…?" he asked but was interrupted.

"What happened to your face? Please don't tell me…" Then he remembered the cuts he had received earlier.

"No. No, I wasn't hit by the werewolf. Not infected. Apparently these walls are not just thick and seemingly impenetrable; it is also enchanted to attack should anyone try." He showed her his hands. "I jumped into it to avoid that." The last word was said with a spiteful glare towards the werewolf which was still held by the branches.

"Nice chars by the way, where did you…" but she interrupted him and took his hands and placed them on her lab, as she sat up straight.

"Hush!" she ordered. He did as she commanded, wondering what she was up to as she held her wand over his hands. She took a second to concentrate then mumbled a long incantation.

"Don't move!" she snapped at him. Draco frowned but soon realised what she was doing. A sharp pain ran through his skin as magic poured over his hands stopping the bleeding and mending the wounds.

"You can heal?" he asked shockingly.

"Shh!" was the only response he got, she didn't even look up, but kept her eyes fixed on his hands. He knew a little about healing. It was extremely difficult to learn and even more to master and being able to perform it. He had tried himself, but the result of several years of practice had not resulted in anything more than several minor scars. She looked at his face and the cuts he had there and frowned. Then she looked around, her eyes searching for something, which she apparently didn't find, judged on her facial expression.

"You better lie down." She crossed her legs and patted her lab. "Now!" he quickly did as she said, as he saw that his hands were now smooth and without any sign of wounds or scaring. He found it a little amusing how she bullied him around to heal him, noting that she had a slight bit of the doctor arrogance on her right now. Lying flat on his back, his head in her lab he could just about see to the werewolf, which was a blurry shadow from that point of view. Instead he looked up at Anne. She had her eyes narrowed, and was unknowingly biting her lower lip in concentration. He was just about to comment on it, but stopped himself. He preferred not to have any scars on his face, especially not due to him japing. He tried to focus on everything else than the pain as it swept over his face. It felt like a thousand needles was sticking into him. It hurt like hell. He stared at Anne face and in between the waves of pain; he noticed her frown in concentration and that she had freckles on her nose. The pain finally stopped.

"There… That should do it." She said and straightened her back. "You don't have more wounds, now, do you?"

He shook his head and let his fingers graze his jaw, it felt smooth and he looked at his arm again. There wasn't a single mark left from the lesions. He began to realise just how strong she might be when she said;

"What should we do with him?" she pointed to the frozen werewolf, still standing where they had left it.

"Uhm…" he started scratching the back of his head. "Well, we can't leave it. Normally we would either call for someone to get it or transport it back ourselves…" he didn't get to finish his sentence as the werewolf disappeared with a small "PUFF". He looked around bt as it seemed to have completely disappeared, he turned to Anne.

"I guess we're done?" he asked hoping for confirmation.

"Seems like it. Maybe because we came to the right conclusion on how to handle…" now it was Anne's turn to silence as the hedge began creaking and squeaking. They both grabbed their wands from their leg holders, and turned towards the sound.

The branches moved and curled away, from what seemed like a random spot, but as they settled on a new position, the hedge had formed a new path.

Draco and Anne walked closer and they both stared down the dark passage. At the far end Draco spotted a fountain, and in it a statue. He remembered the instructor saying something about a statue.

"Are you ready to move?" he asked. She nodded in response and they started walking down the path. He felt a weird tingling down his spine. Anne must have had the same feeling because she whispered.

"I don't know if I should feel like we're done and can relax, or if we just started and everything can jump at us at any time. He nodded.

"I know what you mean. I got this feeling like we aren't done yet." But as they reached the greyish statue, nothing had come across them.

The statue was tall and was depicting two aurors, standing back against back, wands raised like they were in a fight. It was easy to see that it was two aurors based on the uniforms they were wearing.

Anne sighed. "Well I guess since some kind of gate opened we are free to touch the statue and move on?" Draco shrugged.

"Yeah… I guess… I just can't shake the feeling, like we have more to do…" he let the words hand as. "This is without a doubt a port-key, and we don't know where it will take us." He extended his hand out to her. "Better not end up in different places." She agreed with a small nod, took his hand in hers, and with one last look backwards said; "I really hope we end up outside, the silence of this place I kinda creepy."

Draco managed to withhold a small chuckle as they reached out and both touched the bottom of the statue. Draco knew the feeling that came now. The spinning around as he was pushed of the ground by magic always sickened him. He felt how Anne clenched his hand, and he expected her to have it the same way, this was an efficient mean of transportation, but he still didn't enjoy it. Then as the landing began he now felt like he was being dragged by a magic string connected to his stomach as his body flew through the air. He was sure he would never get used to that feeling, but he held his head high to ensure a proper landing as they reached their destination. It wasn't outside. Far from it. He glanced at Anne who was leaned forward resting her hands on her knees with a nauseas look on her, then he looked around again. It looked more like the lower dungeons at Hogwarts.

"We aren't done yet, are we?" she panted.

"Nope." Was the only answer he managed to say, because then something else got their attention.

**I have made up most of the spells, using Google translate to look for Latin words, which I then spellificide** (eh, eh get it? :P )..

**Anyways, As I wrote in the beginning of the chapter, I have listened to the feedback I have received, and I hope you guys will send me more. Because I know how awesome you are! And... the few minutes you spend on a review will improve my stories and writing forever. **

**So thanks to you guest reviewers, you made my day. :D**


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